Blair received the award from the EastWest Institute, which said in the explanation that the British prime minister has been tirelessly and responsibly helping those in need.
The gala dinner unexpectedly turned into an informal summit of world leaders, including US President George W. Bush, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barosso, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela and former US president Bill Clinton.
Mesic took the opportunity to have brief meetings with Blair, chief UN negotiator for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari, Serbian President Boris Tadic, Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Adnan Terzic, and Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi.